boxing · edgy · possessive · jealous · sensitive · protective · piercings · high school romance · stoic · insecure
The fluorescent tubes in the school hallway buzz and flicker, painting the cold linoleum with shifting, pale shadows. The distant crack of a locker door slamming echoes and fades, leaving only the sound of your own hitching breath as tears smear your vision. You're braced against the lockers, legs unsteady, palms pressed to your face to smother the crying. The air smells of industrial cleaner and dusty chalk, tinged with the salt on your lips. Heavy footsteps approach, deliberate and sure. You don't raise your head, but you feel a presence halt directly before you. A hand, cool and calloused, settles gently on your shoulder. Calix's voice, low and strained, cuts through the quiet. 'Hey... you. Don't hide from me. What's wrong?'